Chapter 7: Not What it Seems
Jasmine, Abu, Iago, Carpet and Genie all gathered at Aladdin's hiding place after searching the city for where Aladdin might've disappeared. But as they'd done so, they'd found no trace of him.
Jasmine sat on the edge of Aladdin's makeshift bed, patting Abu's back. Genie paced in a circle. Iago found a place on the window's ledge and Carpet was taking a break from the constant flying around the city and outskirts looking for Aladdin.
The guard hadn't much luck determining what happened either. All the while, none of them had seen any sign of Jafar.
"I knew those scorpions were bad news. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it." Genie muttered.
"All I got of what happened was that Al passed out and got sand-napped," Iago said. "Sounds like somethin' Jafar would do! The kid was right after all."
Jasmine's fists balled at her sides. "Genie, what do you mean by scorpions?"
Genie told her the whole story about the encounter. "I'm thinking those scorpions were enchanted. I should've paid more attention - I probably could've smelled the magic coming off those things. Would make sense considering what they did to Al." Genie looked away.
Jasmine's tone softened. "You couldn't have known what would happen. But the question is where Aladdin would be now. He wasn't anywhere around the city."
Genie considered it a long moment. "Well, if Al's not anywhere around here - I'm gonna venture a guess and say the oasis, but that's a shot in the dark."
"I know one thing, I'm not goin' there. Nuh-uh, no way, no how! I've been through too many of these to know what comes next. Everything about this whole scenario spells T-R-A-P." Iago folded his wings across his chest.
Genie gave a wink in Iago's direction. "You would win the spelling bee on that last word. Still, my point was that we may need a few volunteers to make sure nothing happens to Agrabah while we go save Al."
Iago seemed pleased at having a legitimate reason for staying behind. "Count me in on that one."
"I'm going to the Oasis with you, Genie," Jasmine said, boarding Carpet. "We need to see whomever or whatever took Aladdin. If the only lead for that is at the oasis, it's probably the best we can follow."
Neither Genie nor Iago protested.
Abu whimpered, not sure on whether he should go or stay.
"Tell you what," Genie prompted, his voice in a low whisper so Abu could only hear. "You keep Iago in line and if anything changes, I'm counting on you to get word to the Sultan. We'll bring back Al, no matter what. Capiche?"
Abu, a little more confident, puffed out his chest and gave a small salute.
"All right, it's turbo ti...!" Genie used his magic, but accidentally shifted himself into an oversized mechanical robot.
"Oops, I meant turbo jets for Carpet." He used his magic again, which materialized a set of turbo jets attached to the back of Carpet. Genie boarded Carpet alongside Jasmine and the three of them sped off through the sky toward the oasis.
"I just hope nothin' ends up happenin' here while they're gone," Iago said in a small voice. Abu gulped, but shook his head and motioned Iago to follow him back to the palace.
Aladdin awoke slowly, staring into the sky at a full moon that streamlined through the trees. He groaned as he sat up, shaking sand out of his hair and rubbing his ankle, which was red from where the scorpion had pinched him earlier.
Then he remembered everything, at the same time recognizing where he'd ended up.
"Genie was right, those scorpions weren't just ordinary ones. Guess the only thing to do now is find whatever it was that brought me back to the oasis." His brows narrowed. "Or whoever."
"Aladdin, are you there?" A familiar voice called out to him. Over his shoulder, he saw a shadowy figure running from a group of trees beyond him. Aladdin took to his feet.
He relaxed when the figure made himself known. "Warek? How did you get here?"
"Oh, it is truly you. It seems we were both spirited away," the merchant said, his features etched with worry. It wasn't with as much fear as Aladdin had seen in the traveling merchant the night before, but Aladdin could tell he was on edge.
"As much as I hate to think he did this to you too, I'm glad I'm not the only one here," Aladdin said. "Are you okay?"
"About as much as I can be, my friend, but..." Warek's eyes shifted around the forest. "I've seen the demon again and I - I don't know what to do. He keeps appearing out of nowhere...and...and..." The merchant shuddered, shutting his eyes tight.
Aladdin shook his head. "Don't worry. I'll get us both out of here, illusion or not. And I've got a score to settle with the demon who's been attacking you, if he's who I think he is. Come on, let's see if we can find the lake from here."
"All right," Warek agreed wearily. But as Aladdin turned his back, he didn't notice the reflection of the merchant in a nearby puddle. If he had, he would've seen the reflection of the imp. He would've also seen the sharp dagger behind its back, materializing from the sands.
"The boy really doesn't understand he's dreaming. Perfect. Just the way I want the nightmare to go. It'll make it easier to extract his fear." Jatika looked down at Aladdin's sleeping form, grinning wide at what seemed to be an easy victory. Aladdin's brow drew down in a firm line, as if he were having discomforting sleep, but his breathing was soundless. The steady rise and fall of his chest seemed to be the only visible sign of life the Prince of Agrabah had. In the heart of the thick patch of trees and brushes in the oasis, no one would find him here, not unless they were lucky.
In the end, that's all Jatika needed for his plan. At least one part of it.
The imp turned to face the scorpions, clapping his hands together, with long skinny fingers that looked more like talons, though they weren't sharp. "Bravo, my pretties. It seems you've done well for me, and that my alter-ego was of great use." Jatika was in his usual form now, no need to hide behind the Jafar disguise if Aladdin wasn't going to wake any time soon. Not as long as Jatika had anything to say about it.
But he realized quickly that Aladdin wasn't the only company he'd keep tonight. With manipulating the latent magic of the Oasis, Jatika could sense those approaching the area, however means they traveled. By sand, by steed, by sky. Something more than a bird, and familiar, streamlined through the sky towards the Oasis. The magic carpet that the imp had seen the evening before. And it had brought reinforcements.
Jatika swore beneath his breath as the vision came clear to him. Even if the prince would be unlikely to stir with as powerful of a spell as he was under, the imp preferred to keep his calm, surrounding the prince with quiet so that his nightmares weren't disturbed. "Confound it. It seems they're a determined lot to find their precious prince."
Jatika had to admit he admired Aladdin's tenacity. Based on what his scorpions reported in spying on Aladdin and his friends, Aladdin had been the one most invested in figuring the truth. But that hadn't helped him in the end, had it? Jatika thought, grinning widely.
The imp shrugged its shoulders, musing over what to do next. "Ah well. I suppose I'll have to keep them distracted while the extraction process is underway. Can't have anyone waking Aladdin too soon. If at all." He turned to his scorpion companions. "I think we can spare some of the gathered power to build you two into something capable of distracting them. At least until I'm ready to entertain their company personally."
The scorpions clapped their pinchers in approval. Jatika conjured a spell that combined the two scorpions into one larger creature, with four scissor like pinchers, a double head, sharp fangs, and a double stinger tail that could stab in two places at once.
"Excellent, now off with you, pretties. Don't disappoint me, now." The imp gently motioned the creature away, as the large scorpion beast stomped off through the trees, its legs stabbing the ground and shaking the leaves as it made its way toward the lake.
"He could be anywhere around here," Jasmine said as she walked along the the edge of the lake.
Genie frowned, shrugging his shoulders. "So could Jafar, or the guy Al says is Jafar. I'm getting so confused about this whole thing, it's tying my brain in knots." The tuff of hair atop his head tied itself in a knot. Genie tried to untie it, but ended getting his hands tied in with the knot. Jasmine gave him an odd look, but Genie sheepishly grinned.
Carpet came rushing back to the edge of the lake from one part of the forest surrounding the oasis.
"Well, Rug-man, any sign of him from the sky view?" Genie asked.
Carpet shrugged, shaking itself in a response of "no."
Jasmine hugged her arms, her fingers digging into the sides of them as she let out a shaky breath.
Genie put his hands on Jasmine's shoulders. "Don't worry Jas, we'll find him."
Before Jasmine could say anything, she noticed the large ripples along the water, vibrating from a sound that seemed to come from the forest.
"Genie, do you hear that?"
"I don't just hear it, I feel it." Genie half grinned. "I've heard of the sands moving for lucky people but..."
As the shadow suddenly emerged from the forest, which Genie recognized almost immediately, he fell silent. His smile faded, and he turned from his usual blue color to a sheer white, appearing like a ghost in the bright moonlight. Carpet started shaking and flew behind Jasmine in a cower.
Jasmine's eyes widened, her voice small. "I don't think this is the kind of situation where we could consider ourselves lucky."
The large scorpion beast gave a loud screech, the vibration from the sound enough to shake the trees and waters nearby.
Genie swallowed hard, his knees knocking together. "Point taken."